Head Coach David Zdrilic is backing his charges to take the game to Melbourne City when the two sides meet at AAMI Park on Saturday (kick-off at 2pm WST, watch live and FREE on 10Play and 10Bold).
Click HERE to view his full pre-match media conference
The men in purple will be looking to avenge a chastening home defeat at the hands of the Victorians back in Round 4 and in doing so, maintain a steady improvement in performance levels which began at the turn of the year.
And according to Zdrilic, they plan to do so by playing on the front foot.
“The mood in the camp is pretty upbeat,” he said.
“The last five games have seen a big improvement and we’ve had chances to win all five.
“We’re going to Melbourne City with a very attacking mindset.
“It’s been a long season for us with all of the changes and the results, but the freshness in training with the new-look group, you can just feel there’s a new optimism… it’s a different and re-energised playing group.”
Zdrilic went on to further emphasise that his squad have come a long way since that ill-fated meeting between the two sides at HBF Park in early November.
“It’s hard to compare because things are totally different,” he said.
“We had moments back then where one goal would turn into three and you look back at those games and that underneath mindset needed to change.
“That’s a lot of the work that you can’t see.
“Now the players’ mentality is different and we’re fighting every time.”
Saturday’s hosts come into the Round 19 fixture looking to snap a run of three straight defeats which has seen them drop out of the top six.
But despite their poor recent form, Zdrilic still regards Aurelio Vidmar’s side as a real force in the competition.
“We understand that they’re a tough team,” he said.
“They have a very strong squad and even when they had injuries, they had young ones to come in and they’re able to balance the squad and still get results.
“When they’re on, they are one of the best sides in the league, so it’ll be a tough test… but we’re up for the challenge.”
Switching to off-field matters, the Head Coach revealed that he is still hoping to bring in one more new recruit before the transfer window closes on Wednesday evening.
“We’re not finished yet and we want to use every last minute to get a player in if we can,” he said.
“We might have some news on that in the next couple of days.”
In terms of early team news, meanwhile, Zdrilic confirmed that recent signing Takuya Okamoto could feature in the matchday squad, but defender Andriano Lebib will again miss out through injury (knee).
With the notable exception of their big win over Glory, City have not been prolific in front of goal this year and their current top scorers are midfield duo Yonatan Cohen and Steven Ugarkovic with four and three goals respectively.
At the other end of the field, 21-year-old Patrick Beach has made the goalkeeping gloves his own, registering six clean sheets in 15 games and Kai Trewin has enhanced his reputation as one of the A-League’s best young defenders.
City have played six home games this term, winning three, losing two and drawing one, with each of those victories coming to nil.
The 22 previous A-League meetings between the two clubs have yielded an even split of seven wins apiece and eight draws, with the most recent of those victories for Glory coming in January 2021.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 Season Round 19
Melbourne City v Perth Glory
AAMI Park
Saturday 15 February 2025
Kick-off: 2pm WST
Melbourne City squad: 2. Callum TALBOT, 6. Steven UGARKOVIC, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 17. Max CAPUTO, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 23. Marco TILIO, 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 33. Patrick BEACH (GK), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 38. Harry POLITIDIS, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 40. James NIEUWENHUIZEN, 41. Lawrence WONG, 42. Ben DUNBAR, 46. Ben MAZZEO, 47. Kavian RAHMANI, 50. Mikey GHOSSAINI
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 42. Ben DUNBAR (both promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 8. Jimmy JEGGO (achilles), 10. Yonatan COHEN (knee), 15. Andrew NABBOUT (knee), 21. Alessandro LOPANE (knee), 27. Kai TREWIN (groin), 30. Andreas KUEN (hamstring), 34. Jayden NECOVSKI (knee), 35. Medin MEMETI (international duty)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 3.Anas HAMZAOUI, 4.Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS, 6.Brandon O’NEILL, 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON, 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 12.Taras GOMULKA, 13.Cameron COOK (gk), 14.Nathanael BLAIR, 17.Yuto MISAO, 18.Lachie WALES, 20.Trent OSTLER, 22.Adam TAGGART, 23.Patrick WOOD, 26.Khoa NGO, 27.Will FRENEY, 28.Kaelan MAJEKODUNMI, 29.Tomi MRCELA, 31.Joel ANASMO, 36.Takuya OKAMOTO
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 26.Khoa NGO, 36.Takuya OKAMOTO
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 5.Lachie BARR (injured), 9.David WILLIAMS (injured), 15.Zach LISOLAJSKI (international duty), 16.Adam BUGARIJA (international duty), 19.Josh RISDON, (injured), 24.Andriano LEBIB (injured), 25.Jaylan PEARMAN (international duty)
In association with
#ONEGlory
